[quote]By Drew Danko
Online Editor
Photo by Jack Heerhold[/quote]

How did you become involved with the speech team?

I talked a lot, like always, as a kid. So I wanted to channel that energy in to something efficient.

What do you enjoy about speech?

It’s the people. The speaking is pretty cool and what we do is cool, but everyone on speech is so inclusive and good kids.

Which category do you participate in?

Impromptu, you get a series of quotes, like three, you pick one, get two minutes to prepare, then speak on it for six minutes. You have to have examples on hand and you have a thesis based on your quote, then you prove the quote using your three examples you have. The examples have to be very versatile. I’m a novice. That means it’s your first year.

Do you get nervous in speech?

It’s less about being afraid of speaking in front of people, but more how I’m going to speak. I only get nervous if I’ve seen someone else in that round, we have rounds of about six to eight people. Within that round, you get to see the people perform after you’re done performing, so if I’ve seen someone perform and I know they’re good, that’s nerve racking.

How has speech helped you as a person?

It’s helped me meet more people and being social was never a problem for me, but these guys [on the speech team] are a different kind of people. It’s been great for me as a day to day speaker, like I was super awkward. This has helped me have more focus while speaking. For example, there is a speaker’s box, so when you’re making hand gestures you’re supposed to stay within that box. Before, my hands were crazy and I spoke with them, and I’ve learned to control that.

How do you compete in speech?

It’s not in front of an audience, with the different categories it would take too much time for everyone to get up and perform, because there is 14 categories. So all the competitors in one category are split into different rounds, and there is normally three different preliminary rounds. Around five to eight or ten people are in each round, and that’s how many people can break, which means making it to finals, where you compete with other people.

What does speech mean to you?

It’s about being a part of a bigger team that enjoys what I do, too. We all like to talk, it’s about listening to each other and being there for each other.